Fire-escape ladder and truck



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

A. FREDERICK. EIEE ESCAPE LADDER AND TEUOK.

Patented Apr. 16, 1889.]

WITNESSES, 1.7V V'EN TOR fil /.2 00A A, a. Q. SM,

' Attorney (N0 ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. FREDERICK. FIRE ESCAPE LADDER AND TRUCK.

No. 401,488. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

WITNESSES, LN'V'EN'TOR q Attorney,

N4 PETERS. Phomiilbognphur. Washinglun. D. Q

AUGUSTUS FREDERICK,

PATENT OFFICE.

OI ESSEX, NEW YORK.

FIRE-ESCAPE LADDER AND TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,488, dated April 16, 1889.

Application fil July 2, 1888. Serial No. 278,804. (No model.)

T0 at whom, it may concern..-

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS FREDERICK,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Essex, in the county of Essex and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escape Ladders and Trucks; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the drawings accompanying the same.

My invention relates to. improvements in portable fire-escape ladders and trucks combined.

The principal object I have had in view was effective celerity of movement both in getting to the fire and then in erecting and extending the ladders, and to accomplish these objects my mechanism is so proportion ed as to require the least weight consistent with strength, and both the truck and the ladders are constructed so as to secure the greatest range of effective work without duplication of parts, as will be more fully pointed out.

111 the drawings, Figure 1 shows a side view of my truck with its nest of ladders resting horizontally on top ready for instant service. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the mechanism for raising the nest of ladders from its horizontal position to a perpendicular or an angle greater than a rightangle, as shown by the dotted lines on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a section of the topmost ladder of the nest, covered by a protective shield, within which a person may pass sheltered from the flames and smoke. Fig. 4 is a front view of the nest of fire-ladders erected and the ladders partly extended. Fig. 5 is a front View of the four inner ladders detached from the truck, adapted for use in confined situations, where the truck itself cannot be taken. Fig. 6 shows an adjustable foot to adapt the ladder to uneven ground.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

My truck has but three wheels. The two larger wheels are in front, and the single smaller one in the rear, provided with the usual steering gear. This arrangement of wheels possesses these advantages: The rear end of the truck carries the lightest load, and therefore the weight may well be borne by a single wheel. This lessens the aggregate weight. A single wheel admits of much easier steering, and the whole truck is besides more easily used as a turn-table to direct the ladders to the position. on the burning building which it may be necessary to reach.

The truck is provided with such springs as maybe necessary, a seat for driver and others, and short portable ladders, axes, and other appliances, as may be desired.

A is the frame of the truck carried by the front wheels, C O, and the steering-wheel B. A nest of ladders, shown in the drawings as five in number, D, E, F, G, and H, fitted with tongues and grooves, so as to permit them to slide one within the other and to be extended or entirely withdrawn, as may be necessary,

rests horizontally on the truck. The front or lower end of the outer ladder of the series is fastened permanently to the truck by the shaft I, which passes loosely through the ladder, and also through bearings on the truck. The shaft is provided on both sides of the ladder with cog-wheels J, and it is operated by cranks at each end. Two other cog-wheels, K, are geared into this, and these in turn are geared into an internally-geared Wheel, L, of considerable diameter, securely fastened to the face of the outer ladder. The same arrangement exists on the other side of the ladder. The rear or upper end. of the nest of ladders is free and merely rests on the truck. V hen the crank is operated, the eifect is to turn the wheel L and to revolve the whole nest of ladders to an erect position. This movement may be continued until the upper end of the ladders passes the perpendicular and the edge of the ladder strikes the truck-frame, where it securely rests at an angle of, say, fifty degrees or sixty degrees, from the horizontal; or it may be locked at any intermediate point by suitable means. The upper edge of the ladders as they lie on the truck is thus toward the building to be sealed. The merit of this arrangement is that the truck may be driven directly toward the burning building as close as safety permits. When the horses are unhooked, the truck is advanced by hand as near as may be necessary while the cranks are be-- ing operated and the nest of ladders raised ready to drop over to the front toward the scene of rescue. The ladders are thus brought into action ready for use with the very least possible delay, and no time is lost in turning the machine into position. The nest being erected and pointed toward the desired spot, it is necessary to extend the ladders to the desired height. This is effected as follows: The lower ladder is provided with a winch, M, Fig. 4, each end fitted with operatingcranks. A rope or cable, N, passes around the barrel of the winch and over a roller or pulley at the upper end of the lower ladder and back to a hook on the second ladder about one-fifth from its lower end. If the winch M is now operated, the effect is to extend the second ladder to four-fifths its length, leaving a lap of one-fifth to make a stiff connection. A cable from ladder No. 3 to ladder No. 1 in the same way extends it, and a cable from No. 4 to No. 2 extends No. l, and so on through the whole series, so that the operation of the winch M extends the whole nest simultaneously and with great celerity. If the ladders are twenty-five feet in length, the five shown can be extended one hundred feet and will reach a few feet farther, allowing for the height of the truck.

To detach the four smaller ladders E, F, G, and H, it is only necessary to unhook the cable N, operating the second ladder, and the cable which operates the third ladder, and to draw the nest out of the grooves of ladder D. A smaller detachable winch, O, is adapted to fit into hearings on ladder E when so detached, the cable passed around it, and when it is operated the series of four ladders is extended in the same way that the five had been on the truck. Thus provision is made for the use of the extension-ladders in narrow alleys or back yards or other places where the truck itself could not be taken.

The foot of ladder E is provided with an adjustable extensi0n-foot, as shown in the enlarged plan in Fig.6. P is a strip of metal sliding in a groove in the face of the ladder end. A locking cam-lever, Q, holds the sliding strip at any desired point. Both ends may be provided with this device.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a section of the upper ladder of the series provided with protecting-shields R and S, of metal or other light fire-proof material. The fiat shield R is on the side toward the burning building. The

elliptical tubular shield is on the outside of the ladder when it is erected, and consequently on the under side when it lies on the truck. The tube is large enough to permit a normalsized human being to pass through it, and, besides the protection which it affords from fire and smoke, it would inspire confidence in passing down the ladder at so great a height from the ground, and would carry the escaping person to the wider ladder below, where there is more room for assistance from a fireman. A second or third ladder might be similarly fitted. The upper ladder itself is of fire-proof material.

. It will be observed that this device possesses all the elements required to secure the end sought light weight and consequent rapid movement in reaching the scene of action, and when there the utmost celerity in erecting and then extending the ladders.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fire-escape, the combination of the truck having two wheels at its front end and a single central wheel at its rear end, the nest of extensible ladders disposed within said truck, the internally-toothed wheel secured to the end of the lower one of said ladders, the crank-shaft having a gear-Wheel, and the intermediate gear-wheels located within said internally-toothed wheel, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the truck, of the nest of ladders herein described, the internally-tooth ed wheel secured to the end of the lower one of said ladders, the crank-shaft having a gear-wheel, and the intermediate gear-wheels located within said internallytoothed wheel, all constructed and arranged substantially as described.

3. As an improvement in fire-escapes, the ladder having a fire-proof shield or tube secured to the outer side thereof, and the fiat shield attached to the inner side of said ladder, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS FREDERICK.

Witnesses:

W. A. HALSAR, WILLIAM W. MACK. 

